Thanksgiving weekend 2017

We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend, where we enjoyed the usual traditions- family and food.

Wednesday:

Charlotte in her cultural appropriation gear from school

 Thursday:

5 mile Turkey Trot: our annual tradition 

end of the trot, with the Mann Music Center in the background

 Thursday evening:

cousins, and nuts and pie in the foreground

the ladies

selfie by the fire

The men's side

Beginning our game of Taboo. My mom couldn't even talk when it was her turn.

Friday:

Benjamin on our hike 

Late fall in the woods

We spent as much time as we could with family- my sister, cousins from Massachusetts and DC. We stayed out of the stores and went outside instead.  

We found time to relax as well as play.

Asher told Thanksgiving jokes at the table, and we remembered the things for which we are thankful.

In my annual ritual of gratitude, I am thankful for:

My three perfectly healthy children and their helpful and loving father. They continue to bring me joy each day. I miss them when I'm at work and still can't give them enough hugs and kisses in day.

My own good health- that I wake up each morning with no aches and pains, ready to take on the day.

Our warm, welcoming, messy home. I love that we bring in friends all the time, and that our house is a place for gathering and fun.

My parents, Eric's parents, and my aunt Jane and uncle Ed, who love our kids and spoil them rotten. Our kids can't doubt that they are loved.

Our good jobs, which continue to enable us to live a comfortable and easy life. We have a roof over our heads, cars to drive, and more than enough food to eat. Plus extra for fun!

The wonderful year we had, with the kids' first plane trip and our amazing time in California.

Our refrigerator is still overflowing, and I'm on to wrapping gifts, choosing cookie recipes, and planning Charlotte's birthday.  This is a busy and thrilling time of year!

2nd grade conferences

Eric and I attended conferences with the boys' teachers on Friday.

First we met with Benjamin's teacher.  We have been in regular contact with her- Benjamin's adjustment to 2nd grade was somewhat better than his adjustment to 1st, but we have come upon several recurring problems: Benjamin's social skills are lacking; Benjamin has trouble paying attention in class; Benjamin's effort in his schoolwork is inconsistent.  The good news is that he is academically ahead of the game- he is on par with, or ahead of, his peers in every area. His reading and writing are excellent, and the teacher thinks he is very bright. His trouble with attention and focus are holding him back. 

We are in the process of having him evaluated by the school psychologist. My guess is that he meets criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD, but we will wait to find out. As much as I hate the idea of "labeling," it will give us some guidelines for how to address the struggles we are having. We're fortunate this year that his teacher is patient, kind, and consistent. She has been hugely supportive as we navigate the process.  I have struggled myself with all of this, wondering what I could have done differently for us to get a different outcome; normalizing what is happening by saying that all 7 year-old boys are kind of like this; minimizing my fears and then moments later exaggerating them (it doesn't take much for me to get to a point where this diagnosis will doom him forever).  The team at school who I met with, which was the counselor, achievement team head, psychologist, and speech and language therapist, all have the same goal: for Benjamin to love school, love learning, and be happy. In the end, that sweet boy is still my son, and I love and adore him, and only want him to be happy.  I am hopeful we are on that path.

Asher's teacher had many wonderful things to say about him: he is a good and quick learner, shows consistent effort in his work, has neat handwriting, and is a good citizen in the class. The only negative he had was that sometimes Asher overshares and doesn't know when to stop talking. I cannot imagine where he gets that trait from...

Asher's teacher also told us that Asher has some excellent leadership qualities and might be a natural leader.  How wonderful to hear! Later Eric says, "Gee, that sure was a nice way to tell us our son is bossy."  Hopefully Asher can use his charm and social prowess to turn "bossy" into "leader."

Overall, I left the conferences feeling elated at how the boys are doing. I am thrilled that they are successful 2nd graders, and love that they still love learning.  I hope it continues for a lifetime.

Fall fun & Halloween 2017

We kept Halloween to 2 weekends + the actual day this year.

First, a trip to DC for Boo at the Zoo- at the National Zoo! And a Sunday trip to Cox Farms with our friends.

We went to DC on a Saturday, and it was quite warm and sunny.  After lunch with my cousin, her husband, and their baby, we drove over to the Lincoln Memorial, which I have actually never visited. I visited the Washington Monument several times as a kid, but never Lincoln. 

I was pleased because the boys know about Lincoln, but they also instantly recognized the steps as the place where Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. 

On our way into the Memorial

Asher took this picture

Selfie. I am in love with Charlotte's lips

Lincoln, looming

Reflecting

We looked at the Gettysburg Address, and I nobly tried to read it to Charlotte. 1/3 of the way through, I started crying and couldn't finish. The kids were astonished, and couldn't understand why I was crying. I tried to explain that I felt sad about the fact that our country still doesn't see people of color as equal, but I don't think they completely understood. Our visit was quite emotional for me, so I appreciated our moments reflecting by the pool.

We returned to the car, where Eric had parked in a place labeled "no stopping, no standing." We piled in and Eric turned the key. And, nothing. Eric had been sitting with the lights on and the air conditioning running but the engine off! We called AAA and the kids and I hopped in an Uber to meet our friends. It was a frenzied few minutes, but we got it together and enjoyed the rest of the night.

Our 5 kids at the zoo. Not a single picture with all 5 looking at the camera

Charlotte and a big, bad wolf

Boo at the Zoo in DC was a great time. They gave out tons of candy, and there were some creative costumes. We didn't get to see the pandas, but if you are a follower on this blog, that is par for the course for me there.

On Sunday, another warm and sunny day, we went to Cox Farms. We are old pros now, and maximized our time there.

Hay ride. Benjamin wouldn't go because there is a fake UFO and he is currently afraid of aliens

 We went on the hay ride, did the corn maze, saw the animals, ate ourselves sick on kettle corn (or maybe that was just me?), and ate apples.

The photo for their album cover

 Eric and I were hot and exhausted after our trip to Cox Farms, and we were so hopeful that the kids would fall asleep on the way home. Instead they stayed awake while we worked our way through 4 hours of traffic.

This past weekend I boldly took 3 kids to Sesame Place on a sunny Saturday. After running 10 miles in the morning. I knew I was crazy to do it, but our season passes end at the end of the year, and I wanted to get every ounce of fun out of them. It really wasn't the best idea- it was a sunny day, with rain predicted on Sunday, and the place was absolutely mobbed. We were hot in the sun, the lines were long, and they weren't giving out as much candy as the last time we went. So we hit up every candy spot, rode the roller coaster 2 times, and went home again.

Guess who was giving me attitude?

Some kind man offered to take this photo

On Sunday night, we had our annual Halloween party at our friends' house. She does a nice job of decorating and we have Halloween-themed food (I made "mummy dogs," which were like pigs in a blanket. Charlotte helped me wrap them, and she was excellent help). We played mummies, and Eric did a thorough job of mummifying Charlotte.

Mummy Charlotte

Finally, Halloween! This year I am a room parent in Asher's class. Also this year, they outlawed food at the school parties. The other room parent and I were tasked with planning a fun, 30 minute, non-food party. We came up with fun things to do, but the kids were all hyped up from their parade and let's face it, Mad Libs is not the same as a cupcake.

Benjamin as Jack Sparrow. I made him a goatee and lined his eyes

Benjamin in the parade. He was quite happy

Asher and our neighbor, who is also his classmate

Asher's back in the parade

After the parade and the parties, I took the boys to meet friends for lunch. We had a very noisy, messy lunch, and then got ready to host dinner at our house. We had our friends come join us for an early dinner, and then we hit the road to trick-or-treat! I really love Halloween, and running into friends and classmates all around the neighborhood. I love where we live, and especially with the boys in the elementary school, we know so many people and it truly feels like a community. 

The group of 8, plus our friend Ken

This year's pumpkin creations. On the left is "Tiggy," made for Benjamin

With friends. I am a cat.

Because I am an excellent mother, I didn't get a single picture of the kids together in their costumes. Oh, well. I would still say it was an overall success, and all 3 of my kids loved trick-or-treating, and have been sifting through and sorting their candy ever since.

Charlotte with an amazing lawn decoration

"Oh my gosh, I didn't get a picture of you guys! Quick, smile!"

Now it is November, 3 weeks until Thanksgiving. We are still having September weather, though, so it is hard to mentally move on. Charlotte is especially struggling- she asked me if Halloween would be this coming Tuesday, too.